01.06.2012: PV und neuer Gameplay Trailer

Gust released two more videos of Atelier Ayesha: Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk. The promo video above shows all of the characters revealed so far and the major gameplay features using the "Twilight Citizen" newspaper as a theme.

Alchemy is, of course, a major part of Atelier Ayesha and there are a ton of options on how you can improve the quality of synthesized items. I think the biggest change may be the most subtle. Atelier Ayesha doesn’t have an end game time limit like other titles, so you can spend a whole year leveling up alchemy skills instead of searching for Ayesha’s lost sister.

29.05.2012: Linca, the female guard

Even though we saw Ayesha shield a party member in battle, she isn’t a battle hardened warrior. Linca, a 20 year old woman who works as a guard, is. She’s been training in the art of combat since she was a child and is now a guard specialist. Linca is also a playable character in Atelier Ayesha.

Dengeki PlayStation also introduces Murrieta, the daughter of a merchant, and Fred, a 30 year old baker.

Ayesha will meet many characters in Atelier Ayesha and the game records event scenes by creating memory points. You can write these points down in a diary to get stat up bonuses. Gust also says Atelier Ayesha will have storylines for sub-characters and you won’t need to unlock these through DLC.

21.05.2012: Marion Quinn, Harry Olson and the japanese Premium Box

After packing crystal paperweights with three Atelier games, Gust decided to create a new kind of bonus for Atelier Ayesha. The premium box has a wood frame and a 13.5cm by 17cm illustration. A booklet with a world overview and, of course, a copy of Atelier Ayesha is also in the 10,290 yen ($130) limited edition.

Ayesha is on a quest to find her sister who has been missing for years. One day, Ayesha sees her in some old ruins and sets off to find her. Marion Quinn is surveying ruins in the area. She’s a government official who often gets unreasonable tasks from her superiors. Described as a career woman, Marion has a lot of guts even though she’s kind of small. Ayesha runs into Marion while she is analyzing nearby herbs. After the two meet, Marion will give Ayesha information.

Harry Olson holds a lot of clout in town since he’s on the town council. Gold and silver don’t catch Harry’s eyes, he’s interested in relics from the past. Some items that other folk believe are worthless have a certain charm for Henry. As a collector, Henry has is familiar with items Ayesha finds exploring ruins and can provide advice about goods if you visit him.

Juris Grunden / ????·????? (CV: Kosuke Toriumi)

Juris is a young man who hunts beasts for his livelihood. He trains daily because he believes in his family belief that one will be recognized as a true hunter after defeating an ancient dragon, which he now pursues, and wearing its scales. While he aims to become a true hunter, he is also a family man and hopes to make his family's life easier. He has a little sister around Ayesha's age.

Screens of Juris in battle show his "Counter Strike" move, which is presumably a counter. We also see Juris in combat with a massive enemy.

Battle System

Ayesha retains the cost turn battle system of past Atelier games. Through this system, battle participants, allies and foes alike, will switch position on a turn timetable based off their actions.

New features for Ayesha's implementation include position and distance. Regarding position, if your party members are gathered together, it's easier to cast range-based magic or use range-based items. However, you also open the group to a range attack from the enemy.

You can also make use of a "Back Attack," where you attack enemies from behind. This always results in a critical attack.

Viel mehr Bilder gibt es noch auf der Quellseite!

24.04.2012: More characters

Dengeki PlayStation details two more characters in Atelier Ayesha, Gust’s upcoming PS3 RPG. Welebel is a 14 year old girl who comes from a family of witches. Described as being cute and wearing a black pointy hat, Welebel is a genius when it comes to magic. In battle, one of her attacks is Meteor Storm and she can also summon elements to attack. What Welebel can’t do is fly. She’s trying to learn a technique that will let her soar in the air like other witches.

Yuris is a 20 year old hunter who wants to defeat a dragon and wear its scales as armor. He has a protector personality and fights using a hatchet and crossbow.

Speaking of the battle system, players will be able to move Ayesha and her friends around in Atelier Ayesha. Gust has a move command as part of the menu. The distance between you and monsters plays a key role in battle. For example, if partner characters are in the same area you can deal more damage with assist skills and attacks. Snippets from Dengeki PlayStation’s preview also note you can attack with magic books and you can do a chasing enemy can surprise you with a back attack.

Regina Curtis

Regina, Ayesha's friend from some time back, collects items from ruins and sell them. She was born into a wealthy family and had to look after her many brothers.

Keithgrif Hazeldine

Age 45
Blood Type AB
Height 180cm

Keithgrif is an alchemist from another country. He travels around ruins and ancient cities in pursuit of knowledge.

Updated Alchemy System

Atelier Ayehsa inherits the basics of its item synthesis system from past Atelier titles. You'll still gather materials and select a recipe. However, now you can add items midway through to change the effects.

08.04.2012: Regina and Keith

The lonely lead character in Atelier Ayesha, is on a quest to find her missing sister who she spots in the ruins. Ayesha won’t adventure alone for long since Gust revealed two more characters in Dengeki PlayStation.

Regina is a 23 year old acquaintance of Ayesha who makes a living selling artifacts excavated from ruins. Regina is a sociable girl with a bunch of siblings to take care of.

Keith (at least that’s part of his name?) is the group’s cool old guy at 45 years old. He’s an alchemist from another town who knows quite a bit about the ruins. Keith is in pursuit of knowledge and comes to battles empty handed. He relies on alchemy skills, which are different from Ayesha’s.

When you’re creating new items in Atelier Ayesha you can select the order of items to place, quality, and the quantity. These attributes can alter synthesis and a handy Radar Chart keeps track of the possibilities.

Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk is slated for release on June 28.

03.04.2012: 1st Trailer

More details about Atelier Ayesha: Alchemist of the Ground of Dusk are coming out and the game won’t have a time limit like other Atelier titles. The goal of this game is to reunite Ayesha Altuge with her younger sister Nio who went missing while gathering herbs. Atelier Ayesha takes place in a new world separate from the Arland saga where the art of alchemy is out of style. Most people forgot about it and Ayesha lives in an ever changing world.

Speaking of changes, Gust revised the cost turn battle system for Atelier Ayesha. In Atelier Meruru, players can shift the turn order by using different attacks. Atelier Ayesha still incorporates this mechanic and adds enemy range to the mix. You can move Ayesha and other party members closer (or further away) from enemies, but moving alters the turn order too.

29.03.2012: Mehr Infos zur Distribution

Like other Atelier releases, Gust is creating a limited edition for Atelier Ayesha. Amazon Japan revealed the publisher’s plans by opening a pre-order page and shared another piece of promotional art for the game.

As an additional bonus, fans that pre-order Atelier Ayesha will get a drama CD. Details about the contents in the 10,290 yen ($125) premium package have not been announced. A standalone game will retail for 7,140 yen ($86). Both versions of the game are listed with lower prices on Amazon.

With localization work on Atelier Meruru underway, Gust is developing the next game in the Atelier series. Revealed in Dengeki PlayStation, Atelier Ayesha stars a lonely girl who runs an alchemy studio. After her grandfather passed away, Ayesha’s younger sister Nio disappeared when she was gathering herbs.

Yesterday, at a games event in Akihabara, Tokyo, Gust teased their next Atelier title, currently in development for the PlayStation 3. Currently codenamed “Project A14,” the game will feature characters by a new designer, but Gust didn’t share details who just who this is. The image above features a silhouette of the game’s new main character.

More details on the game will be announced at the end of this month in Dengeki PlayStation magazine. What we do know for now is that the game isn’t part of the “Arland” series of Atelier games, which concludes with Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland.

The theme of Project A14, says director Yoshito Okamura, is “The Promise Begins”. The game is scheduled for a June release. More will be revealed in Dengeki PlayStation magazine on March 29th. In the meantime, you can find more photos from the event at Dengeki Online.